Kristin Wegner’s life has been shaped by Rotary and Peace Corps.
Like most new college graduates, Kristin Wegner jumped at the first opportunity for work – but found it wasn’t exactly her dream job. While sifting through her email one afternoon, she came across an ad for the Peace Corps. The next day, she applied. She would go on to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, study as a Rotary Scholar in Colombia, and later join the Rotary Club of Boulder Flatirons, Colo., where she helped head up a $33,000 global grant project in South America. Today, Wegner is a project manager for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research – and she credits her relationship with Rotary and the Peace Corps for making it all happen.
THE ROTARIAN: What did you do as a Peace Corps volunteer?
WEGNER: I served as an environmental education volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Some of the local Rotary clubs approached the Peace Corps volunteers and offered us an opportunity to attend bio-sand water filter workshops. I then worked with a team of high school students near a trash dump in Cienfuegos Santiago to help improve the water quality of the town. Halfway through, I connected with the Rotary Club of Joliet (Illinois), which generously donated money to keep me in the Peace Corps for a third year.
TR: Where did this experience take you next?
WEGNER: After Peace Corps, I attended graduate school. Through my research for my master’s thesis, I met Steve Werner, a former Peace Corps volunteer and a member of the Rotary Club of Denver Southeast, who was also involved in water projects. He connected me to water nonprofit work in Colorado. Through that, I met Norris Hermsmeyer, a member of the Rotary Club of Boulder, who encouraged me to apply for the Rotary scholarship.
TR: How did this lead you to join Rotary?
WEGNER: When I returned to Colorado, my scholarship sponsor, Herb Kroehl, of the Rotary Club of Boulder Flatirons, encouraged me to join. At the same time, a friend from Colombia wrote me to ask if Rotary could help his town in an education and community development project. With the help of donations from Rotary clubs in Colorado, Wilmington West (Delaware), and Santa Marta (Colombia), we raised $33,000.
TR: Both the Peace Corps and Rotary played a big role in your life. How did these two organizations work together?
WEGNER: They were always a natural connection for me. Both Dominican and American Rotary clubs supported me as a Peace Corps volunteer by providing mentorship and technical and financial support. Peace Corps volunteers can provide an on-the-ground understanding of communities, language, and culture wherever Rotary projects are implemented. Also, returning to the United States after living abroad was challenging, but Rotary helped me connect to service-oriented professionals.
TR: How has your experience with Rotary and the Peace Corps shaped who you are now?
WEGNER: My Rotary mentors have supported me in writing complex grants, crafting the perfect fundraising pitch, overcoming my fears of public speaking, and learning how to collaborate and network. Peace Corps taught me how to engage with communities with integrity by listening to their wants and needs. My time with Peace Corps also taught me the importance of family, a healthy lunch break during the work day, and dancing your stress away. – Megan Ferringer